Malaysia: Poisoning caused quick death

Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

Malaysia’s health minister said Sunday that the dose of nerve agent given to North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un’s exiled half brother was so high that it killed him within 20 minutes and caused “very serious paralysis.”

Kim Jong Nam died Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport in what Malaysian police say was a well-planned hit by two women who wiped a liquid on Kim’s face. Police revealed Friday that the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent was used to kill Kim.

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said the dose of VX given to Kim was so high that he showed symptoms within minutes. Kim fainted at the airport clinic and died in the ambulance en route to a hospital, he said.

“VX only requires 10 milligrams to be absorbed into the system to be lethal, so I presume that the amount of dose that went in is more than that,” he said. “The doses were so high and it did it so fast and all over the body, so it would have affected his heart, it would have affected his lungs, it would have affected everything.”

Asked how long it took for Kim to die after he was attacked, Sathasivam said, “From the time of onset, from the time of application, 15-20 minutes.”

Malaysia hasn’t directly accused the North Korean government of being behind the attack, but officials have said four North Korean men provided two women with poison to carry it out.